


The Two Week Bet

by pherryt



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Feelings, M/M, Some angst, ellen knocks some sense into them, guinea pigs, ill advised bets, moping dean and cas, sam and gabriel realize where they've gone wrong, their friends are fed up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 10:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13246386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Dean and Cas are finally together and now their friends seem determined to tear them apart. It's almost more than they can bear, but at least its temporary, right?





	The Two Week Bet

**Author's Note:**

> First Fic of the new year! This was written for a tumblr prompt:
> 
> Once Dean and Cas finally got together ( after months of mutual pinning) they can’t keep their hands off of each other ( poor Sam and Gabe have been scared numerous times ) for 5 minutes let alone a whole day. So their friends bet them that they can’t go an entire 2 weeks with no sex of any kind. So of course everything the other does becomes the sexiest thing ever. But their friends have a side bet on who will break first. Such as Sam knows what Cas can wear, do or say in that voice of his that really turns Dean on or maybe Charlie calls Cas down to Deans shop while he’s sweaty, shirtless and covered in grease under the hood of a car cause she knows that’s what really gets her best friend all hot and bothered. Who will win the prize can be anything you like and you can even scare everyone in the end because Dean and Cas aren’t stopping for anything or anywho once they can touch each other again

It was all Sam’s fault.

Well, Gabe’s too.

Dean was fuming. Neither Dean nor Cas were to blame for their brothers ill timing. Or their inability to knock. So what if Dean and Cas took every opportunity to be together – sexually or not? They were making up for lost time.

_Years_ of lost time.

And really, could you blame him? Dean thought. Cas was hot, and sweet and pure – but don’t let that fool you, because he could come down on you like a force of nature if he believed you’d wronged someone or something.

But noooooooo, for some reason, his friends all thought it was scandalous that Dean and Cas loved each other so much. Gabe and Sam often went crying to their mutual friends over at the Roadhouse about “The things we have seen! They cannot be  _unseen_ _!_ ” and that had become a matter of course. Dean grumbled and Cas rolled his eyes, they endured some ribbing and that was that.

Only this time…

Jo had leaned forward over the table as she placed their drinks down before looking behind her to check if her mother was watching. She quickly sat down, sliding into the side of the booth with Sam and Gabe who were staying as  _far away_ from Cas and Dean as they could and still hang out with them.

She grinned, the twinkle in her eyes instantly making Dean wary. Cas, less familiar with Jo’s ways, simply accepted his drink and listened to her conspiratorial whisper. It was just loud enough to carry over the noise but was also low enough to stay in the booth, for which Dean was very goddamn grateful.

Still, everyone had to lean in to hear her more clearly. “If it bothers everyone so much, why not make a game out of this?”

“A game? Out of my love life?” Dean scoffed. “What the hell, Jo?”

“Since the two of you can’t seem to make it 5 minutes without being all over each other –“ Jo smirked as the rest of the table – Sam, Gabe, Benny, and Charlie – snickered.

“We can too!” Dean protested. Cas pointedly did  _not_ look at him.

“Well then prove it. Agree to the game, Winchester. Two weeks. You have to keep your hands to yourselves for two weeks.”

“Why the hell would I  _wanna_ do that?”

“Cause if you win…” she trailed off and looked at the rest of the table. “We’ll all chip in something as a prize – for both of you of course.”

“I don’t know, Jo, would have to be worth our while if you want us to give up each other.” Dean narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Dude, it’s about showing a little self-restraint – you guys wouldn’t even last an entire day,” Gabriel pointed out.

“Then why even get us to do this if you have so little faith in our ability to keep our hands off each other,” Cas finally chimed in.

“Prove us wrong. We’re all just hoping to god, you can prove us wrong and give us a bit of a break,” Sam said.

“Okay, so if we’re gonna do this, if we’re going to make a bet, someone’s gotta be getting something outta this. Who’s getting what? I still say you need to make it worth our while, ‘cause I’m perfectly fine with  _not_ proving you wrong if Cas is involved.” Dean looked at Cas and smiled sappily, Cas echoing the look before they moved toward each other, caught in the others orbit. Their lips had just barely touched when Sam threw up his hands.

“Fine! You want stakes? We’ll make some stakes. If you make it the whole two weeks, I’ll cut my damn hair just as short as yours,” Sam said.

“Oh yeah?” Dean eyed his brother and grinned. “Okay, that’s you, what about the rest of you?”

“I’ll make you a pie every day for free for a month,” Gabriel offered. Dean drooled at that. Gabe’s bakery was the best in town.

“That sounds awesome – but so far that’s 2 for me and nothing for Cas. This will be a joint effort or it ain’t gonna work. What are you bribing  _him_ with?” Dean pointed out. “Gonna have to be good if he’s gonna resist  _this_ for two weeks.”

Jo gagged while Benny rolled his eyes. “You sure are conceited, brother, but I’ll rise to your bait. I’ll teach Dean how to make my special gumbo – as long he promises to keep it secret. And I’ll help Cas build that beehive thing he wants on that stretch of land he bought last month.”

Dean felt Cas perk up at the thought even as Charlie chimed in. “And I’ll help him get it started – if he’s gonna raise some bees, he’s gotta have some bees to raise. As for Dean…” She paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully. “How about my copy of the first issue of Batman?”

“Oh! Great idea, Charlie! I’ll toss in that rare book Cas has been eyeing from my collection since the day we met,” Sam conceded. He elbowed his boyfriend and Gabe grumbled then sighed.

“How about a year’s supply of Astroglide – mailed directly to your home so you never have to go scrounging around for mine again.” Gabe glared at them and shook his finger admonishingly. “And by year, I mean by  _normal_ people’s standards. Not by whatever standards  _you_ two are using!”

Everyone turned to look at Jo. She huffed and took a careful look around, as if her mother might pop up right behind at that exact moment. It wasn’t paranoia if it’s been known to happen on multiple occasions, Dean had to concede. Ellen had a sixth sense when it came to her daughter. “One night, both of you, come in and the tabs on me. Anything you want.”

The whole table whistled. She must really have faith that Cas and Dean couldn’t keep their hands off each other, because they’d never met anyone who could drink Cas under the table. Not even Dean. As a pair, they were dangerous.

“All right, that’s for our side. Now what do  _we_ get if  _you_  fail?” Gabe leaned forward, rubbing his hands together.

Dean and Cas looked at each other and held one of their famous silent conversations before they started taking turns lining out what they’d give. “Next family vacation, Gabe and Sammy can pick – even if it includes a plane,” Dean said with a shudder. Sam’s face lit up and Gabe’s eyes got a gleam in them that scared Dean.

“Charlie, Dean and I will join your Moondor LARP thing, full costume and everything. And Benny, we’ll help you with your upcoming remodel of the Gumbo Shack,” Cas said, watching his friends’ expression turn so happy, he sort of wished he’d offered that before. And a little guilty because there was no chance he wouldn’t have helped Benny anyway, and he’d been dithering about joining Charlies LARP for ages.

That left Jo. They stared at her till she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Jo was always the hardest to shop for at Christmas, for some strange reason. Dean and Cas exchanged more silent looks. She was really putting herself out there with that offer and they weren’t sure how to match it. Not as a couple like they had for all the rest. And Dean couldn’t even offer car maintenance because she already got that by living with Bobby. But nor did they want to give her a blank check, so to speak, for fear that she’d ask for something they were totally unwilling or incapable of giving her, or doing for her.

“I could…” Dean gulped, “Let you drive the Impala?”

The table fell silent. Cas didn’t even have to offer anything because Jo was in shock and her eyes had widened. It was something she’d been begging Dean for since they were kids. But Dean never even let  _Sam_ drive his baby. The only person to touch the Impala in over a decade that hadn’t been John or Mary Winchester (and that was a looooooong time ago) had been Cas and, well, it was  _Cas._ It was already a well-known fact that Dean would give or do anything for Cas – and let Cas do anything he wanted in return.

What made it sickeningly sweet was that Cas was the same way.

“I’m holding you to that, Dean Winchester. Remember, no welching!” Jo said triumphantly. “So, do we all agree to the terms and the stakes?”

A round of nods from the table was cut short by the appearance of Ellen, arms crossed, looking down at Jo sternly. There was no change in the ambient sound but Jo froze anyway and stared at Dean, eyes wide. “Mom’s behind me, isn’t she?” Dean didn’t have to say a word, his eyes flicking over her shoulder and back down again. Jo abruptly stood and started rattling off orders as if confirming them – not like she didn’t have them memorized anyway – and Ellen narrowed her eyes but let it go.

“No lollygagging, Joanna Beth,” was all Ellen said before she turned on her heel and left.

Dean and Cas went back to Dean’s place that night feeling a little giddy. “Can you  _believe_ the shit they’re gonna give us just so we don’t have sex for 2 weeks? Fuck, man, our friends are weird. This will be a piece of cake.”

Cas tilted his head at Dean. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, the wheels in his head turning as he attempted to find the right words to respond. Which was normally only necessary when Dean had said something really dumb and Cas was trying to find a way to politely point that out.

Which Dean noticed, of course, as he shot a panicked glance at his boyfriend. “Wait, that came out wrong. I don’t mean that you’ll be easy to resist. You know I love you and you’re really fucking hot, right? I just meant, that between the two of us, we can totally come up with a plan of action to make this challenge a lot easier.”

“What did you have in mind, Dean?”

“Well, it’ll suck, but maybe no sleeping over each other’s place. I don’t know about you, but uh…I think you’re pretty irresistible in the morning. And before I’ve had my coffee, I might, y’know, just kinda forget what’s at stake here.” Dean rubbed at the back of his neck nervously.

“While I don’t wish to be deprived of your presence, you probably have a point. It would be best to remove as much temptation as possible to avoid any possible slipups.” Cas agreed. “To that end, we should probably limit our in-person time as much as possible. I mean, once I start touching you…no matter how innocently intended, I do rather have a hard time stopping.”

“So, phone calls, texting and skyping? Maybe meet up for lunch dates out in public where we can’t get too handsy?” Dean reached for Cas to pull him into a hug. Cas backed up.

“Don’t…I already don’t want to let you go, Dean, but I have my eye on those bees…” Cas said gently.

Dean raked a hand through his hair and nodded. “Okay, then I guess I should drive you home.”

Cas looked at Dean sadly and nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

The  **first few days**  actually passed without any of the dreaded slipups. The plan was absolutely working. They couldn’t touch through a phone or a computer screen, so the gravitational pull that they always found so hard to resist was muted. Instead, they would stare at each other longingly and lovingly as they talked. Dean found himself cuddling the pillow Cas used most often when he was there, while Cas took to sleeping in Dean’s AC/DC tee that he’d forgotten there the week before (and that was unusual, because Cas usually slept in the buff. Normally a pair of boxers was the only concession to his brother since when he woke he wasn’t exactly coherent enough to remember that he was naked before leaving his room).

Of course, everything was going  _so_  well that their friends actually started to panic. Living with their brothers meant that the friends had inside information on how things were going and the fact that Dean and Cas were ‘winning’ just by avoiding each other was intolerable.

Forgotten was the whole  _point_ of the bet, now the friends were conspiring on how to make them  _lose_ the bet. Firstly, because this was cheating. That wasn’t self-control at all! Secondly, because they were all really looking forward to their prizes and thirdly…

Well, what if they all had a side bet going? It wasn’t as if Gabriel hadn’t lost after the first day already – “Hey, I had no idea those lunkheads would work out a way to keep their hands off each other longer than 24 hours! It isn’t remotely fair and I declare a mistrial!”

“That’s not the way it works, Gabe,” Sam said with a smile, shaking his head. “Besides, it wasn’t against the rules since we didn’t lay down a whole heck of a lot of those. In fact…if they’re gonna cheat, why not cheat right on back?”

“What’d you have in mind, Sam?” Gabriel leaned into Sam’s space with a mischievous grin.

“Oh, you’ll see…” Sam smirked.

Monday saw Cas’s car breaking down on the side of the road. He, of course, called the only place he could trust with his precious car – Singer’s Auto.

Garth came out and hitched the Continental onto the tow truck and Cas climbed into the front seat beside Garth as the lanky man chattered the whole way back to the shop. Dean was working, of course, and Cas caught a glimpse of his boyfriend looking all sorts of unfairly hot in his uniform – well, half his uniform, anyway, Cas noted, looking Dean up and down, the coveralls folded down to show the black tee underneath and naked, sweaty arms, dotted in the same grease that covered his fingers and hands. There was even grease over his face where he’d obviously wiped away sweat without realizing he’d left streaks behind.

Cas licked his lips.

Grease covered, half naked, sweaty Dean was maybe one of his kinks.

Not that he would admit that out loud to anyone other than Dean.

Cas took a deep breath and beat a hasty retreat as soon as possible, snapping a photo before he left and then texting his boyfriend after he was safely away.

C >>God you looked good enough to eat…

D <<Huh?

C >>Car broke down. Had to bring it in. Wanted so bad to just walk over and kiss you.

D <<Oh god, babe…don’t tease me like that!

C >>This is killing me Dean. I want to wake up next to you.

D <<I know. Me2 babe

Next time it was Dean’s turn to feel temptation. Sam needed to return books to the library and since he wasn’t feeling good, it fell to Dean. He walked in with full intent to drop the books into the return slot and leave but then he caught sight of Castiel reaching up for something on the top shelf for a little girl. He was dressed in his usual attire – black slacks, white button up and today was a backwards blue tie and his glasses. His face looked like it hadn’t been shaved since the day before and oh god, Dean forgot about his Librarian kink until just that moment. He grew hot and had to yank at the neck of his shirt, but he couldn’t look away. He hadn’t seen Cas in person in  _days_.

Dean stood there so long drooling, feet itching to take him to Cas’s side, that when someone cleared their throat at his elbow, he startled and dropped all of Sam’s books on his feet. Cursing, he bent over to pick them all up, blushing furiously at having gotten caught staring even as the library worker who’d caused him to drop the books leaned over to help him.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, sir! I just wanted to ask if you needed any help. Are you all right?” The youngster babbled. He must be new, Dean realized, since he had no idea who Dean was. Dean looked up and found Cas was out of sight and sighed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Um…could you…um…hold on. Dean patted his pockets down for a scrap of paper and a pen and scribbled something on it, folded it in half and handed it to the kid who looked all of 16. “Could you give this to Cas for me, please?”

“Mr. Novak? Sure, I can do that.” The kid took the note carefully and placed it on top of the books he’d grabbed as Dean snagged the rest. He quickly got them checked back in and booked it before he caught sight of Cas again. Because all he wanted right now was to thread his fingers through that messy hair, feel his scruff against his skin…

With a whine, Dean dashed out the door, breathing hard.

A half an hour later, his phone rang. He picked it up with a smile, seeing Cas’s name on the caller ID. “Hey Cas.”

“Hello Dean. I heard you caused some excitement a little while ago. Poor Kevin was traumatized about startling you and was convinced you’d hurt yourself. Are you all right?” Cas’s gravelly voice was a welcome balm and Dean sank back into the couch cushions with a sigh, his eyes fluttering shut.

“Oh, man, yeah. I’m fine. I was wearing my work boots so I was all good. Gotta send the kid a fruit basket or something though, ‘cause he rescued me from going over and ravishing you where you stood,” Dean chortled.

Cas chuckled breathlessly. “Dean, I’ve told you before…we can’t do that kind of thing at my  _job_.”

“Cas, when our two weeks are up, I don’t care  _where_ we are…I miss you so goddamn much…” Dean groaned.

“I do too, Dean, but hang in there.  **Just another week** …” Cas encouraged.

“Hey, uh…you think phone sex is against the rules? I mean, we ain’t touching each other, right? The bet was that we couldn’t keep our hands off each other sooooo…” Dean trailed off hopefully.

“Dean, while that is the letter of the law, it’s definitely against the spirit of it. And I’m afraid that it’ll only make me miss you more rather than to…erm…take the edge off,” Cas admonished.

“But Cas…” Dean whined.

“Hold strong, Dean.”

“Fine,” Dean said. He was pouting, but at least Cas couldn’t see that. Cas was right. They’d made it to the halfway point. They had this in the bag.

That was, until suddenly, despite his and Cas’s efforts, Cas and Dean kept seeming to run into each other everywhere they went. The grocery store, the music store, the book store, the pet store. Coincidentally, it was always in the company of one of their mutual friends. Who never…seemed…surprised…

Dean’s eyes narrowed at the thought and shot off a text to Cas. <<Dude, they’re setting us up! Theyre tryin to make us fail

C >>That WOULDexplain why Gabriel’s been watching me like a hawk these past few days and laughing his ass off for no reason that I could figure out.

C >>I’ve been afraid to touch anything in the house for fear he’s booby trapped something.

C >>That fucker. He did something to my car, didn’t he?

D <<That would explain what I found. Your car did look tampered with. Bobby told u, right?

C >>he did. I just confronted Gabriel. He’s acting all fake innocent. Which means yes.

D <<So they’re definitey sabatoging us

C >>We can do this Dean. We’ll prove them ALL wrong.  **Only 4 days left**

Despite everything, the assurance did little for Dean’s morale. He knew it was only a few more days, but he missed his boyfriend and every tantalizing glimpse of him was like a taunt. The scent of Cas on his pillow had worn off before the end of the first week and he’d begun to sleep poorly. He missed the warmth of cuddling with Cas while they watched something completely ridiculous. It wasn’t even about the sex that had started all this. He just wanted Cas in his arms again. Wanted to gaze into those blue eyes, feel the scruff of his face leaned against his own, make him smile that gummy smile or – even rarer – make him laugh.

He was awake already when his alarm went off, staring up at the ceiling. There was a hole in his chest and he knew the only way to fil it was with Cas. If nothing else had been done with this stupid bet, he’d come to realize how much he needed Cas in his life. The random trivia, the little considerations, the kindness he gave to strangers, the way he melted at the sight of kids and guinea pigs (and any other creature, Dean was pretty damn sure, but guinea pigs most especially) and his weird obsession with bees.

In a foul mood, Dean stomped out of his bedroom. Everything seemed to go wrong that day. The coffee maker wasn’t working. His favorite mug shattered. He sliced his hand when bent to clean it up.

Every little thing that went wrong served to make him even more disgruntled and out of sorts. He growled at everyone at the shop that so much as looked at him wrong. He bled through the bandages in his palm when trying to do something as simple as an oil change – and when Bobby had seen that, well, he’d given Dean hell and kicked him out.

“Yer gonna get an infection, boy! Get your ass to the doctor and don’t come back for the next couple of days, idjit,”

Not even the texts he received from Cas throughout the day could bring him out of his funk completely, because Cas was obviously just as frustrated and just as out of sorts as Dean was.

And nothing improved the next day.

The friends had once more gathered for an emergency meeting, but this time their concerns were something different entirely.

“I think we broke them,” Sam said with a stricken face. “Dean’s been messed up for days. I mean, it was probably bad enough when they decided not seeing each other was the best strategy, but then we totally fucked with their strategy.”

Gabe nodded solemnly. The others gazed at the two with dropped jaws. Sam and Gabriel were on the front of this little war, and if even Gabe – who never took anything seriously – was worried, then the rest of them were scared as hell.

“Cassie was crying into his pillow the other night. He won’t eat any of his favorite foods that I made him, and when I told him there was a bee documentary on tv last night, he  _turned it off!”_  Gabe whispered with wide, horrified eyes.

“Are you sure they’re not just being overdramatic shits? They’ve only got, like, 2 days left of their self-imposed isolation. This isn’t our fault! We didn’t make that a term of the bet!” Jo started off accusing but ended in a panic.

Glasses thunked down on the table and they all jolted guiltily. Ellen stood there with a very serious look on her face. For once, she wasn’t chiding Jo about neglecting her job. Instead, Ellen crossed her arms over her chest and eyed them all sternly. “What in hell did you all do? You all look guiltier than anybody has a right to.”

Nobody would meet her eyes. Gabe squeaked and hid his face in Sam’s hair. The sight was so odd to see from the normally brash man that it only drove home the idea that  _something_  was indeed wrong.

Ellen sat down. “Spill. Or I’m kicking you all out.”

Hesitatingly, they all managed to stumble through the story. She sighed when they were done. “Really? Is it so bad to see a couple as in love as those two are? I’ve been waiting for one of them to pop the question, and you five idiots are doing your damn best to actually break them up?”

“Not break them up! We just wanted them to…show a little self-control, for once. You don’t know what it’s like, living with them. They’re constantly on each other!” Sam protested.

“Besides, we just really thought they’d have given in by now.” Charlie exclaimed. “No harm would have been done!”

“Y’all forget just how stubborn those boys can be? Remember how long it took them to actually work up the nerve to admit they liked each other – to themselves, much less the other? And then you all waltzed in with your bet and near about broke them up!” Ellen’s face was full of righteous fury and they all flinched back from her wrath.

“But…you don’t know how unbearable it got! I’ve seen my brother in ways I should never have seen!” Sam argued, Gabriel nodding in agreement.

“Well maybe,” Ellen glared at Sam and Gabe, “Just maybe – and I could be shooting blind here – you should have considered that they might be appreciative of some privacy? I mean, it’s gotta be hard to get when both of them have roommates with no respect for personal boundaries. Sam, I’ve heard you admit before that you’ve walked into your own brother’s room without knocking - how many times? And Gabe, the bathroom? Really? That’s even worse! Those are the two places any adult has a reasonable right to expect some sort of privacy – whether they’re with their partner or not.”

Ignoring Benny, Charlie and her daughter, Ellen glared down at Sam and Gabriel, though none could think how she managed it from a seated position. “Think about it. How much of what you’ve ‘seen’ and deemed too much was in a public space, and how much of it was in the privacy of their own homes? Even behind closed doors? Kissing doesn’t count. Neither does cuddling, hand holding or sappy looks – all of which you two do all the time.”

They all looked at each other guiltily, avoiding Ellen’s eyes. She wasn’t wrong, Sam and Gabriel were starting to realize. Maybe it had been partly their fault to begin with? And Benny and Jo? They’d just gotten caught up in the whole bet aspect of the thing that they hadn’t really thought it through

“Look, we know we fucked up. But how do we fix it?” Charlie asked, being the only one brave enough to speak.

“Seems to me, best thing to do is just cancel the damn bet.” Ellen said, rapping the table. “At least, that’s my advice. That way no one loses face. Maybe you can consider why they’re trying so hard to win that they’re putting their own relationship at risk?”

She stood and walked away, leaving the four of them in silence.

“I mean, could we do that? Won’t they get suspicious? I can just see Dean thinking we were canceling the bet because we were trying to get out of paying our end. I mean, it may not be going well, but they  _are_ winning.” Benny pointed out.

“Dammit, I think he’s right,” Sammy muttered. “He’d refuse to back down or demand his winnings.”

“Then…let’s just give it to them,” Gabriel offered. He looked around the table. “I got no problem with providing them some Astroglide and pie, though I’d miss these locks of yours Sammy-kins, you can always grow your hair out again.” He reached up to stroke Sam’s hair and looked at Benny and Jo. What about you?”

“Gumbo and a beehive ain’t that bad,” Benny acknowledged.

Jo winced as she recalled what she’d promised, and figured she’d just have to suck it up. She nodded. Sam and Charlie thought about it and nodded. They could relinquish spoils they’d promised with only slight regrets.

“Then we’re all in agreement?” Sam asked. There were nods all around and collectively, the table seemed to relax.

Of course, the next part turned out to be the hardest. When the friends tried to find Cas or Dean to let them know it was over, it was discovered that neither of them could be found. They weren’t answering their phones, and Bobby hadn’t seen Dean since he’d sent him home. Sam stormed into his house to find it empty – Gabe texted to tell Sam the same.

There was no sign of either of them.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Sam yelled, grabbing at his hair. Neither Sam, nor Gabe slept that night as they waited up in their respective homes waiting their brothers return.

That’s how Dean found his brother, hours later, when he snuck quietly back into the house. Sam scrunched up at the kitchen table, his head in his hands and cold coffee by his elbow. He blinked and cleared his throat.

Sam shot up and Dean winced at the circles under his eyes, the guilt stricken look on his face. “Sammy, whats wrong?”

“I’m so sorry, Dean!” Sam stood, knocking the chair back. “We’re calling off the bet, okay. You and Cas can have all the prizes, but I can’t stand to see you like this. Gabe can’t stand seeing Cas the way he is either. And it’s all our fault!”

Dean patted awkwardly at Sam’s back as he tried to parse his brothers sobbed words. “Wait, you sayin’ we won? But it ain’t over yet…?”

“No, I know.  _We_ know. We all agreed. No more bet. It’s not worth it, not if what we’re doing is tearing you and Cas apart.” Sam’s voice was muffled but the sobbing, at least, had stopped.

Dean blinked. It was over? It was over! Oh thank fuck! He’d just been about to concede and try to convince Cas to do the same ane now he didn’t have to. He’d been busy all day too, just searching for the right thing and he thought he’d have to wait a couple more days to give it to Cas and now…now he didn’t have to wait all?

His eyes widened as the made that realization.

Dean didn’t have to wait.

“Oh, thank fucking god!” He breathed out, Dean pushing back from Sammy and, with new found energy, bounded for the door. “I need to see Cas. I need to…” he looked over at his stunned brother with a giddy and nervous grin. “Don’t wait up.”

Cas finally let himself into the apartment, hoping he could sneak the guinea pigs he’d bought for comfort into the place he shared with Gabe. It was meant to be a pet free zone, and as much as he’d tried to assure Dean they could make it, Cas felt like he was falling apart. He knew his life wasn’t worth less without Dean around, but Dean meant so much that it felt like he’d lost an arm and a leg.

It was doable, but not preferable.

Of course, Cas had no such luck in sneaking in. He found Gabe sitting in the recliner under a lamp. Rather dramatically, his brother had been sitting there in the dark, and it wasn’t until he reached up to pull the light switch for the lamp that he revealed himself.

Despite the dramatic, the worry on his face was real.

At least it was, before he caught sight of what was in Cas’s arms.

Cas watched several emotions war across his brothers face. He could see how much Gabriel wanted to tell him to turn right back around and get rid of the things, but thankfully, Gabe just closed eyes, let out a breath – and said nothing about the little balls of fur about to take up residence in their supposedly pet free zone.

They stared at each other, both unsure what to say in that moment and then the moment was gone as pounding on the door shattered it.

“Who the hell?” Gabriel growled. “You take care of…those  _things_  – “ He shuddered. “- Cause, yeah, I ain’t touchin’ ‘em, and I’ll answer the door. Oh! And they’re staying in  _your_ room. Not out here.”

Cas let out a small smile, probably the first Gabe had seen in days, he realized, and disappeared with the cage, the guinea pigs and the supplies he’d bought.

When he finished, he looked down at the cage happily, then sighed. He supposed he should find out  _why_ Gabriel had been lying in wait for him, before he’d derailed his brothers with absolute cuteness. He left his room and walked down the short hall, only to stop short when he saw Dean inside the apartment.

Cas stumbled to a halt with a gasp, unable to take his eyes off Dean. Dean looked up and grinned happily at the sight of his boyfriend. He strode over and took Cas’s hands in his. “Dean? What are you doing here?” he shot a quick glance at Gabriel, then over to Dean. “What about the bet?”

“Screw the bet. The bet’s not worth it. Also, Sammy said their calling it off and we can still win. Or something. Honestly, not really sure. I stopped listening as soon as I realized they were stopping the bet. I’ve been going crazy not seeing you,” Dean breathed, knocking his head against Cas’s gently, their breaths mingling as he spoke. Cas’s eyes wanted to flutter shut and just bask in the warmth and comfort of Dean’s arms, breathe in the scent of leather and oil he’d come to associate with his boyfriend, but he didn’t want to take his eye off him either.

Cas threw his arms around Dean. “It’s been hell,” Cas said, his eyes watering. “I’ve missed you Dean, so much. We should never have agreed to it.”

“It’s over now, babe. It’s over,” Dean said softly. Neither heard the snort behind them. They’d all forgotten the peanut gallery of one still in the room. “In fact, it wasn’t all bad. It made me realized something. It made me realized, I can’t live without you, Cas. I know it’s too soon for marriage, but would you wanna move in with me? Or, I mean, I haven’t exactly asked Sammy how he’d feel having a sudden roommate, I’m sure I’ll get a bitchface for that. So maybe here, or maybe we can just find someplace together, just for the two of us?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’d like that, however we can manage it.” Cas laughed and pulled back to kiss Dean. The kiss lasted long, and if they’d forgotten Gabriel’s presence before, there was no chance they would remember it now.

They completely missed the sound of Gabriel grabbing his keys and muttering, or the door closing behind him. They were too lost in each other. Eventually they broke apart, and Cas felt something pressed into his hand. “It’s a key,” Dean whispered. “Maybe we can convince our brothers to move in with each other here, and you can come move in with me? What do you think our chances are? I think we deserve a little space of our own, don’t you?”

“Hmm…indeed. Maybe it will keep them from proposing any more ill-advised bets. I don’t think I can do this again. I…may have done something rash while you were gone.” Cas looked down and back up. “How do you feel about Guinea pigs?”

  **Bonus Scene:**

Dean blustered and protested but fell in love with those guinea pigs.

Sam and Gabriel  _did_  move in with each other – Sam to Gabe’s place, leaving Cas to move in with Dean – and the complaints of the brothers certainly went down.

They turned Sam’s room into a guest/guinea pig room, occasionally giving them free reign of the room. But sometimes, Cas gave them balls to roll around the common area in and if Dean followed them around to make sure they weren’t getting stuck in corners or under anything, Cas fondly didn’t say a word.

And if the two of them fucked like bunnies…well, unlike nosy brothers, the guinea pigs weren’t going to complain.

Turned out, the bees didn’t either.

**Author's Note:**

> I've hit some more milestones so i'm holding a raffle on my blog - [Check here for details](https://pherryt.tumblr.com/post/169209336781/another-milestone-raffle)


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